The Lost Gate

Mithermages, Book 1

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Emily Janice Card

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Orson Scott Card’s The Lost Gate is the first book in the Mithermages series from the New York Times bestselling author of Ender’s Game.

Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different—and that he was different from them. While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an outself.

He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father. Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people.

There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow. There is a secret library with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English—but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. While Danny’s cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.

Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.

©2011 Orson Scott Card (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[T]his ambitious tale is well crafted, highly detailed, and pleasantly accessible." (Publishers Weekly)

Good story that could have used a better narrator

The male narrator was a poor choice for a young boy and women. He would have been great for a western story. The female narrator was more fitting for this story and I wish she did the whole thing.

another great Orison Scott Card book

this book was thrilling from the beginning to the end. I couldn't put it down.

The Lost Gate

This was a great book! Loved the narrator as well. A new story line. Wonderful.

Not as good as his other books but decent enough.

Love the background and systems in this story. The main character keeps making dumb decisions and his actions don't seem believable in his world.

Loved it. Couldn’t stop listening.

I really enjoyed all aspects of this book. Don’t pay attention to the nay sayers. I’m excited to listen to the next book. This is a fantasy book, not science fiction. So the story is not like OSC’s sci-fi books.

Intriguing story

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next two in this series,

New and interesting

This new book series, the Mithermages, by Orson Scott Card is an excellent book for people who are interested in the fantasy genre or for people who are just casual listeners. I am looking forward to the rest of the books in the series to see how everything turns out.

A Fantastic and Compelling Listen

I am a long time OSC fan...but a fan of his science fiction. This is my first listen of his fantasy work and I can hardly contain myself from downloading everything I can find.

The characters are enthralling and approachable, the story is brilliantly crafted, the magical system is ingenious. And damn ti all if the whole thing just doesn't make you feel good.

Enjoy the listen!

good start to another great Card series

Although there were times when the characters would spend far too much time explaining the science of the magic in the book, or too much time explaining events, the story was still fascinating and showed Card is still a master story teller.

The plot was compelling and entertaining. The characters believable, with some exception to Danny's knowledge of the world and science.

A little swearing and sexuality mar a good story

Fun story...like most of the author's stories it starts slowly, and is easy to lose interest. But by the second half, it becomes very hard to put down!

The book contains everything you expect from the author: (1) a new and interesting fantasy world, (2) a heroic character who is truly a good person and who feels ordinary in spite of being extraordinary, and (3) a fun, light hearted romp through situations that test the cleverness of the hero.

My biggest complaints are that the author (1) does a poor job painting an immersive picture of the location, mood, and character of each scene; (2) spends too much time painstakingly enumerating all the possible outcomes of most decisions; (3) rarely challenges the reader's perceptions, morals, philosophies, and core assumptions; (4) poorly leverages suspense, drama, mystery, and cliff hangers to drive the story forward; (5) fails to realistically explore the genuine challenges of life and the hard work and sacrifices required to conquer those challenges; and (6) includes a little bit of swearing and sexuality, which are unnecessary and inappropriate for the children and teens that will especially like the book.